Senior Financial Analyst - Varsity Spirit Products
Varsity Spirit · Farmers Branch, TX · 1 mo ago
FinanceFull-time
We need to output HTML fragment with sections for headings: About the role, Responsibilities, Requirements, Qualifications, Skills, Benefits, Pay, Schedule. Only include sections that have real specific content. We need to parse the posting.
We need to remove boilerplate: navigation, legal, EEO, etc. Also remove duplicated lines.
We need to preserve all substantive info.
We need to use for section headings. Use
for section headings. Use - for any list of duties/requirements/benefits. Use
for prose.
We must not repeat job title as heading. No Job ID.
We need to include sections only when posting has real specific content.
Let's extract content:
Company description: "VARSITY SPIRIT, A VARSITY BRANDS COMPANY - THE DRIVING FORCE IN SPIRIT ACROSS CHEER, DANCE, BAND AND YEARBOOK For over 50 years, Varsity Spirit has been the leading global source for all things spirit, including cheerleading, dance team, performing arts and yearbook. Focused on safety, entertainment and traditional school leadership, Varsity Spirit’s 5,000+ employees are dedicated to celebrating school spirit. A leader in apparel innovation, educational camps, clinics, competitions, and yearbook, Varsity Spirit impacts more than a million athletes each year. OUR COMMITMENT TO SAFETY At Varsity Spirit, the safety and wellbeing of the young people we serve is of the utmost importance. Since our inception 50 years ago, we have been – and remain – steadfastly committed to doing our part to create a safe and positive environment for our participants’ physical, emotional, and social development, and promoting an environment free from abuse and misconduct. Varsity has a zero tolerance for abuse in its programs, events, and associated business activities. Varsity is committed to reporting all suspicions, allegations, and incidents of abuse in full accordance with local laws and reporting requirements. Learn more at Our Commitment to Safety - Varsity.com."
That's about the company. Could be "About the role"? Actually "About the role" is typical heading for role description. But we have a company overview. Could treat as "About the role" maybe? The instruction: use
for section headings (e.g. About the role, Responsibilities, Requirements, Qualifications, Skills, Benefits, Pay, Schedule). So we can include About the role (company overview and role purpose). Then Responsibilities (duties). Then Qualifications (education, experience). Then Skills maybe separate? But we can combine skills within Qualifications? The instruction says prefer a few substantive sections over many thin ones. So we could have About the role, Responsibilities, Qualifications (which includes skills, education, experience). Benefits section if present. Pay and Schedule only if stated.
We have WORK TYPE: Hybrid (Monday-Thursday / WFH Friday) LOCATION: Farmers Branch, TX Brands Headquarters - 14460 Varsity Brands Way WORK HOURS: 8am - 5pm CT TRAVEL: Travel is minimal; occasional out-of-area or overnight travel may be expected based on business needs.
That's schedule info: work hours, hybrid schedule. So we can include a Schedule section with that info. Pay: not mentioned. So we omit Pay.
Benefits: there is a "Our Benefits" section with bullet list. So we include Benefits.
Now we need to extract responsibilities list: Under "WHAT YOU WILL DO:" there is a note then list of duties. We need to capture them as list items.
Let's extract duties:
- Support month-end close activities, including preparation or review of journal entries, accrual analysis, account reconciliations, expense review, and investigation of unusual or unexpected activity.
- Ensure financial results and supporting schedules are accurate, complete, timely, and appropriately documented for management review, audit requests, and control requirements.
- Prepare monthly management reporting and executive-ready commentary that clearly explains performance versus budget, forecast, prior year, and key business metrics.
- Provide back up support for sales commission accruals and payments, including reviewing calculations, documentation, plan alignment, and appropriate treatment in financial reporting and forecasts
- Analyze revenue, gross margin, operating expenses, working capital, accruals, balance sheet activity, and other financial results to identify trends, risks, opportunities, and actionable business insights.
- Partner with business and functional leaders to review financial performance, validate forecast assumptions, explain variances, resolve accounting or reporting questions, and develop corrective actions as appropriate.
- Lead and support annual budget, rolling forecast, and long-range planning activities, including development of financial models, assumptions, templates, and business partner inputs.
- Build scenario models and sensitivity analyses to evaluate pricing actions, cost initiatives, investments, and changes in operating assumptions and communicate implications to decision makers.
- Support internal and external audit requests by providing accurate schedules, reconciliations, explanations, and supporting documentation.
- Continuously improve close, reporting, forecasting, data quality, documentation, internal controls, and analytical tools to increase accuracy, efficiency, and insight.
- Other duties as assigned.
Also earlier "HOW YOU WILL MAKE AN IMPACT:" paragraph describing role purpose. Could be part of About the role.
Now Qualifications: Under "QUALIFICATIONS:" there are Knowledge, Skills, Abilities paragraph, then Success Indicators paragraph, then Education, Certification And Experience paragraph, then Supervisory Responsibility, Physical Demands and/or Work Environment, Other Duties (duplicate note). We need to extract substantive qualifications.
Let's parse:
Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:
- Strong understanding of financial statements, month-end close, journal entries, accruals, account reconciliations, budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, management reporting, and key business drivers.
- Ability to connect accounting results to budget performance, forecast expectations, profitability, operational performance, and business decision-making.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to reconcile financial activity, identify trends and root causes, and recommend practical solutions.
- Effective business-partnering and communication skills with the ability to translate detailed accounting and financial information into clear insights for financial and non-financial audiences.
- Demonstrated ownership, attention to detail, organization, and ability to manage multiple close, reporting, and planning deadlines with limited supervision.
- Ability to constructively challenge assumptions, anticipate business needs, and proactively identify accounting, reporting, or financial risks and opportunities.
- Advanced Microsoft Excel skills and proficiency with ERP, financial planning, reporting, and business intelligence tools.
Success Indicators:
- Accurate and timely month-end close support, reconciliations, accrual analysis, budget, forecast, variance analysis, and management reporting deliverables.
- Clear identification and explanation of key accounting activity, financial drivers, risks, opportunities, and performance trends.
- Improved forecast accuracy through disciplined assumptions, accurate accounting inputs, business partner engagement, and proactive risk and opportunity tracking.
- Effective partnership with Finance, Accounting, Sales, Operations, and functional leadership.
- Executive-ready reporting and commentary that connects accounting results to management decisions and future financial performance.
- Continued improvement in close processes, reporting tools, forecasting processes, documentation, internal controls, data quality, and analytical capabilities.
Education, Certification And Experience:
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or a related field required.
- Five or more years of experience in accounting, financial analysis, FP&A, budgeting, forecasting, management reporting, or a related accounting or finance role.
- Strong understanding of financial statements, month-end close, account reconciliations, accruals, budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and management reporting.
- Advanced Microsoft Excel skills and experience with SAP or other ERP, financial planning, reporting, or business intelligence systems.
- Experience supporting accounting and finance activities in business unit finance, manufacturing, distribution, apparel, consumer products, or a similar environment preferred.
- Experience developing budget and forecast models, executive reporting packages, dashboards, KPI reporting, reconciliations, or automated financial analysis tools preferred.
- CPA, CMA, MBA, or progress toward a professional certification preferred.
- Experience supporting SOX, audit, internal controls, financial statement review, or balance sheet reconciliation requirements preferred.
Supervisory Responsibility: This position has no direct reports.
Physical Demands and/or Work Environment: This job operates in a professional office environment. Largely a sedentary role with some filing requiring the ability to lift files, open filing cabinets and bending or standing on a stool as necessary.
Other Duties: note about job description not comprehensive (duplicate). We can ignore as boilerplate.
Now Benefits: list under "Our Benefits". Let's extract bullet points:
- Comprehensive Health Care Benefits
- HSA Employer Contribution/ FSA Opportunities
- Wellbeing Program
- 401(k) plan with company matching
- Company paid Life, AD&D, and Short-Term Disability
- Generous My Time Off & Paid Holidays
- Varsity Brands Ownership Program
- Employee Resource Groups
- Access to Financial Coaching and member-owned Credit Union
- St. Jude Partnership & Volunteer Opportunities
- Employee Perks including discounts on personal apparel and equipment!
- Eligibility for company-sponsored benefits is determined by scheduled work hours, and the terms of the applicable benefit plans.
- Benefit offerings and eligibility requirements may vary by position and are subject to change in accordance with plan documents and applicable law.
We should keep these as list items.
Now Schedule: we have WORK TYPE: Hybrid (Monday-Thursday / WFH Friday) LOCATION: Farmers Branch, TX Brands Headquarters - 14460 Varsity Brands Way WORK HOURS: 8am - 5pm CT TRAVEL: Travel is minimal; occasional out-of-area or overnight travel may be expected based on business needs.
We can combine into a schedule section: maybe include work type, location, hours, travel.
Now About the role: we can combine company overview and impact statement.
Let's craft About the role paragraph(s). Use
for prose.
We need to avoid duplication: The company overview appears at start; also there is "OUR COMMITMENT TO SAFETY" which is part of company overview. We'll include that.
Now we need to output only HTML fragment, no markdown fences.
Let's structure:
About the role
... company overview ...
... impact statement ...
Responsibilities
- ... each duty ...
...
Qualifications
... maybe combine knowledge/skills, success indicators, education/experience ...
But we could also split into sub-sections? But instruction prefers few sections. Could keep Qualifications as one section with multiple paragraphs.
We could also include Skills as part of Qualifications.
We need to ensure we don't create empty sections.
Now Benefits:
Benefits
- ... each benefit ...
Schedule:
Schedule
Hybrid work schedule: Monday‑Thursday in office, Friday remote (WFH). Located at Farmers Branch, TX Brands Headquarters, 14460 Varsity Brands Way. Standard hours: 8 am – 5 pm CT. Travel is minimal; occasional out‑of‑area or overnight travel may be expected based on business needs.
We should not include Pay section.
Now ensure we removed boilerplate: EEO statement at end, "Varsity Brands companies are equal opportunity employers..." etc. Remove.
Also remove duplicated lines like "Please note this job description is not designed to cover..." etc.
Now produce HTML.
Let's craft the About the role content:
Company overview: "Varsity Spirit, a Varsity Brands company, has been the leading global source for all things spirit for over 50 years, including cheerleading, dance team, performing arts and yearbook. Focused on safety, entertainment and traditional school leadership, its 5,000+ employees celebrate school spirit. The company leads in apparel innovation, educational camps, clinics, competitions, and yearbook, impacting more than a million athletes each year. Varsity Spirit is steadfastly committed to safety and wellbeing, maintaining a zero‑tolerance policy for
for prose. We must not repeat job title as heading. No Job ID. We need to include sections only when posting has real specific content. Let's extract content: Company description: "VARSITY SPIRIT, A VARSITY BRANDS COMPANY - THE DRIVING FORCE IN SPIRIT ACROSS CHEER, DANCE, BAND AND YEARBOOK For over 50 years, Varsity Spirit has been the leading global source for all things spirit, including cheerleading, dance team, performing arts and yearbook. Focused on safety, entertainment and traditional school leadership, Varsity Spirit’s 5,000+ employees are dedicated to celebrating school spirit. A leader in apparel innovation, educational camps, clinics, competitions, and yearbook, Varsity Spirit impacts more than a million athletes each year. OUR COMMITMENT TO SAFETY At Varsity Spirit, the safety and wellbeing of the young people we serve is of the utmost importance. Since our inception 50 years ago, we have been – and remain – steadfastly committed to doing our part to create a safe and positive environment for our participants’ physical, emotional, and social development, and promoting an environment free from abuse and misconduct. Varsity has a zero tolerance for abuse in its programs, events, and associated business activities. Varsity is committed to reporting all suspicions, allegations, and incidents of abuse in full accordance with local laws and reporting requirements. Learn more at Our Commitment to Safety - Varsity.com." That's about the company. Could be "About the role"? Actually "About the role" is typical heading for role description. But we have a company overview. Could treat as "About the role" maybe? The instruction: use
for section headings (e.g. About the role, Responsibilities, Requirements, Qualifications, Skills, Benefits, Pay, Schedule). So we can include About the role (company overview and role purpose). Then Responsibilities (duties). Then Qualifications (education, experience). Then Skills maybe separate? But we can combine skills within Qualifications? The instruction says prefer a few substantive sections over many thin ones. So we could have About the role, Responsibilities, Qualifications (which includes skills, education, experience). Benefits section if present. Pay and Schedule only if stated. We have WORK TYPE: Hybrid (Monday-Thursday / WFH Friday) LOCATION: Farmers Branch, TX Brands Headquarters - 14460 Varsity Brands Way WORK HOURS: 8am - 5pm CT TRAVEL: Travel is minimal; occasional out-of-area or overnight travel may be expected based on business needs. That's schedule info: work hours, hybrid schedule. So we can include a Schedule section with that info. Pay: not mentioned. So we omit Pay. Benefits: there is a "Our Benefits" section with bullet list. So we include Benefits. Now we need to extract responsibilities list: Under "WHAT YOU WILL DO:" there is a note then list of duties. We need to capture them as list items. Let's extract duties: - Support month-end close activities, including preparation or review of journal entries, accrual analysis, account reconciliations, expense review, and investigation of unusual or unexpected activity. - Ensure financial results and supporting schedules are accurate, complete, timely, and appropriately documented for management review, audit requests, and control requirements. - Prepare monthly management reporting and executive-ready commentary that clearly explains performance versus budget, forecast, prior year, and key business metrics. - Provide back up support for sales commission accruals and payments, including reviewing calculations, documentation, plan alignment, and appropriate treatment in financial reporting and forecasts - Analyze revenue, gross margin, operating expenses, working capital, accruals, balance sheet activity, and other financial results to identify trends, risks, opportunities, and actionable business insights. - Partner with business and functional leaders to review financial performance, validate forecast assumptions, explain variances, resolve accounting or reporting questions, and develop corrective actions as appropriate. - Lead and support annual budget, rolling forecast, and long-range planning activities, including development of financial models, assumptions, templates, and business partner inputs. - Build scenario models and sensitivity analyses to evaluate pricing actions, cost initiatives, investments, and changes in operating assumptions and communicate implications to decision makers. - Support internal and external audit requests by providing accurate schedules, reconciliations, explanations, and supporting documentation. - Continuously improve close, reporting, forecasting, data quality, documentation, internal controls, and analytical tools to increase accuracy, efficiency, and insight. - Other duties as assigned. Also earlier "HOW YOU WILL MAKE AN IMPACT:" paragraph describing role purpose. Could be part of About the role. Now Qualifications: Under "QUALIFICATIONS:" there are Knowledge, Skills, Abilities paragraph, then Success Indicators paragraph, then Education, Certification And Experience paragraph, then Supervisory Responsibility, Physical Demands and/or Work Environment, Other Duties (duplicate note). We need to extract substantive qualifications. Let's parse: Knowledge, Skills, Abilities: - Strong understanding of financial statements, month-end close, journal entries, accruals, account reconciliations, budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, management reporting, and key business drivers. - Ability to connect accounting results to budget performance, forecast expectations, profitability, operational performance, and business decision-making. - Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to reconcile financial activity, identify trends and root causes, and recommend practical solutions. - Effective business-partnering and communication skills with the ability to translate detailed accounting and financial information into clear insights for financial and non-financial audiences. - Demonstrated ownership, attention to detail, organization, and ability to manage multiple close, reporting, and planning deadlines with limited supervision. - Ability to constructively challenge assumptions, anticipate business needs, and proactively identify accounting, reporting, or financial risks and opportunities. - Advanced Microsoft Excel skills and proficiency with ERP, financial planning, reporting, and business intelligence tools. Success Indicators: - Accurate and timely month-end close support, reconciliations, accrual analysis, budget, forecast, variance analysis, and management reporting deliverables. - Clear identification and explanation of key accounting activity, financial drivers, risks, opportunities, and performance trends. - Improved forecast accuracy through disciplined assumptions, accurate accounting inputs, business partner engagement, and proactive risk and opportunity tracking. - Effective partnership with Finance, Accounting, Sales, Operations, and functional leadership. - Executive-ready reporting and commentary that connects accounting results to management decisions and future financial performance. - Continued improvement in close processes, reporting tools, forecasting processes, documentation, internal controls, data quality, and analytical capabilities. Education, Certification And Experience: - Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or a related field required. - Five or more years of experience in accounting, financial analysis, FP&A, budgeting, forecasting, management reporting, or a related accounting or finance role. - Strong understanding of financial statements, month-end close, account reconciliations, accruals, budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and management reporting. - Advanced Microsoft Excel skills and experience with SAP or other ERP, financial planning, reporting, or business intelligence systems. - Experience supporting accounting and finance activities in business unit finance, manufacturing, distribution, apparel, consumer products, or a similar environment preferred. - Experience developing budget and forecast models, executive reporting packages, dashboards, KPI reporting, reconciliations, or automated financial analysis tools preferred. - CPA, CMA, MBA, or progress toward a professional certification preferred. - Experience supporting SOX, audit, internal controls, financial statement review, or balance sheet reconciliation requirements preferred. Supervisory Responsibility: This position has no direct reports. Physical Demands and/or Work Environment: This job operates in a professional office environment. Largely a sedentary role with some filing requiring the ability to lift files, open filing cabinets and bending or standing on a stool as necessary. Other Duties: note about job description not comprehensive (duplicate). We can ignore as boilerplate. Now Benefits: list under "Our Benefits". Let's extract bullet points: - Comprehensive Health Care Benefits - HSA Employer Contribution/ FSA Opportunities - Wellbeing Program - 401(k) plan with company matching - Company paid Life, AD&D, and Short-Term Disability - Generous My Time Off & Paid Holidays - Varsity Brands Ownership Program - Employee Resource Groups - Access to Financial Coaching and member-owned Credit Union - St. Jude Partnership & Volunteer Opportunities - Employee Perks including discounts on personal apparel and equipment! - Eligibility for company-sponsored benefits is determined by scheduled work hours, and the terms of the applicable benefit plans. - Benefit offerings and eligibility requirements may vary by position and are subject to change in accordance with plan documents and applicable law. We should keep these as list items. Now Schedule: we have WORK TYPE: Hybrid (Monday-Thursday / WFH Friday) LOCATION: Farmers Branch, TX Brands Headquarters - 14460 Varsity Brands Way WORK HOURS: 8am - 5pm CT TRAVEL: Travel is minimal; occasional out-of-area or overnight travel may be expected based on business needs. We can combine into a schedule section: maybe include work type, location, hours, travel. Now About the role: we can combine company overview and impact statement. Let's craft About the role paragraph(s). Use
for prose. We need to avoid duplication: The company overview appears at start; also there is "OUR COMMITMENT TO SAFETY" which is part of company overview. We'll include that. Now we need to output only HTML fragment, no markdown fences. Let's structure:
About the role
... company overview ...
... impact statement ...
Responsibilities
- ... each duty ... ...
Qualifications
... maybe combine knowledge/skills, success indicators, education/experience ...
But we could also split into sub-sections? But instruction prefers few sections. Could keep Qualifications as one section with multiple paragraphs. We could also include Skills as part of Qualifications. We need to ensure we don't create empty sections. Now Benefits:Benefits
- ... each benefit ...
Schedule
Hybrid work schedule: Monday‑Thursday in office, Friday remote (WFH). Located at Farmers Branch, TX Brands Headquarters, 14460 Varsity Brands Way. Standard hours: 8 am – 5 pm CT. Travel is minimal; occasional out‑of‑area or overnight travel may be expected based on business needs.
We should not include Pay section. Now ensure we removed boilerplate: EEO statement at end, "Varsity Brands companies are equal opportunity employers..." etc. Remove. Also remove duplicated lines like "Please note this job description is not designed to cover..." etc. Now produce HTML. Let's craft the About the role content: Company overview: "Varsity Spirit, a Varsity Brands company, has been the leading global source for all things spirit for over 50 years, including cheerleading, dance team, performing arts and yearbook. Focused on safety, entertainment and traditional school leadership, its 5,000+ employees celebrate school spirit. The company leads in apparel innovation, educational camps, clinics, competitions, and yearbook, impacting more than a million athletes each year. Varsity Spirit is steadfastly committed to safety and wellbeing, maintaining a zero‑tolerance policy for